Ted Cruz’s campaign spent thousands at beauty salons: report

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is facing new scrutiny after a Friday report that his campaign spent more than $9,000 at salons, which exposes the Lone Star State's junior senator to possible campaign finance violations.

The multiple payments to beauty salons – occurring from 2016 through October of this year – came directly from the Ted Cruz for Senate campaign, according to a HuffPost review of campaign finance paperwork, and could conflict with the Federal Election Commission’s rules against personal use.

The publication noted that it's unclear who received the beauty services paid for with campaign dollars – Cruz "who doesn’t appear to wear makeup or maintain an expensive haircut” – or someone else. The report added that his wife, Heidi Cruz, has played a campaign surrogate role in the past.

“The most recent expenditure was $282 at Allure Day Spa in New York City on Oct. 11, between the first and second weeks of Cruz’s bus tour across Texas,” according to HuffPost.

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It continued: “Earlier this year, the Cruz campaign spent $310 in June and $876 in February on a makeup artist in Houston. The campaign has listed the same vendor more than a dozen times in FEC reports going back to 2018.”

Cruz didn't immediately comment on the report.

A campaign finance expert at Columbia Law School told HuffPost that the expenditures are “personal use,” but added that the question of whether they violate campaign finance rules hinges on certain factors.

“It is personal use,” Richard Briffault told the publication. “And the question is, is it the kind of personal use that [they] would be doing irrespective of whether or not he was running for office?”

Cruz, whose now-infamous escape to Cancun during Texas’ deadly winter storm in 2021 drew widespread criticism and has emerged as a point of attack for his opponents, is fighting a tougher-than-expected reelection battle against his well-funded opponent, Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX).

A recent poll shows Cruz with a 3% lead while Allred has slowly closed the gap between them in recent months to his highest percentage, according to FiveThirtyEight. Texans in the traditionally-ruby red state haven’t elected a Democrat statewide since 1994.